Millennium foes rally at Minisink site

Troopers called after protesters block vehicles

MINISINK — Residents continued their battle to stop the construction of a natural-gas compression station Saturday, gathering for a rally that drew at least a dozen state troopers after some protesters blocked the path of trucks leaving the site.

MINISINK — Residents continued their battle to stop the construction of a natural-gas compression station Saturday, gathering for a rally that drew at least a dozen state troopers after some protesters blocked the path of trucks leaving the site.

More than 80 people massed outside the Jacobs Road entrance to the $43 million Millennium Pipeline Co. site; plans include construction of two 6,130-horsepower compressors and two 52-foot-tall exhaust stacks.

The rally came as opponents appeal to a federal court to halt construction pending a hearing on a larger case to reverse the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's decision giving final approval to the project after rejecting an alternative site in Deerpark owned by Millennium. "We hold a lot of faith in the fact that we are on the side of right," Leanne Baum, whose hilltop home sits across from the site and will overlook the station, said as she held her 1-year-old daughter, Hannah. One man was briefly detained and a woman was treated by emergency medical personnel after protesters blocked trucks trying to leave the construction site. As one white pickup tried to bust its way through the blockade, some protesters banged on the truck and yelled at the driver.

John Feal, an advocate for 9/11 responders and the first guest speaker called to the microphone, urged calm and asked protesters to resist aiming their anger at the construction workers.

"The people who are wrong are the people you don't' see," he said. "They're the ones you take the fight to."

For more than a year, residents have sought to prevent construction of the station, citing environmental, health and safety concerns. Along with protests at the site, opponents have appealed to FERC, the federal courts and federal lawmakers.

Denise Razukiewicz, who lives near the site, is worried about potential ill effects on her husband, a retired New York City firefighter who has 9/11-related asthma, and about possible health and safety threats to the couple's three children.

"We moved up here six years ago to have a better life for the kids," she said. "This is crazy."

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia temporarily ordered the construction halted before allowing it to resume in October. And in December, FERC rejected a petition to rehear arguments against the project. Opponents are now asking the U.S. Court of Appeals to order Millennium to stop construction while the court considers their challenge to FERC's approval.

Baum recalled telling people who warned her about the project that she would probably not be able to see it from her house. She pointed to the roof of the building that will house the equipment.